1. Field of the Invention
This invention is generally directed to scraping and cleaning tools or implements and more particularly to such a tool that can be utilized to clean a variety of surfaces regardless of configuration including flat surfaces, rounded edges such as encountered with rods, wires or pipes, inside and outside corners and the like.
2. Brief Discussion of the Related Art
There have been many tools developed over the years for cleaning surfaces soiled by foreign materials which are used in everyday home environments such as surfaces of cages, barbecue grills, pipes, tubes, corners and edges of pots and pans, and other articles having hard to reach surfaces. Picnic, camping and backyard barbecue grills are favorites for gathering of friends and relatives for special occasions. Various scrapers and brushes have been designed to facilitate cleaning of the wire racks associated with grills of all types, unfortunately, it often requires a number of different tools to adequately clean the wire framework associated with outdoor cooking grills.
Other household items which frequently require cleaning are wire elements and intricate corners of cages which are utilized to house dogs, cats and other family pets. Cleaning of the bars when closely spaced is very difficult and tight corner areas associated with cages frequently require the use of make-shift tools for scraping purposes and which are not totally effective for removing material from very hard to reach areas.
Numerous scraping and cleaning implements have also been specifically structured to facilitate cleaning of pots and pans used in kitchens. Unfortunately, many such implements have limited use and are not effective in removing burnt on or hard to remove materials found in the corners or edges or groves in bakeware, pots and pans and other cookware.
Other areas frequently requiring the use of scraping and cleaning tools are molding, window trim, and other surfaces of interior and exterior walls and building structures which frequently need to be repainted or resurfaced. Although numerous types of scraping and cleaning implements have been specifically designed for sanding and removal of old paint and other materials from wall surfaces, many such conventional implements are not satisfactory for use in scraping and cleaning decorative trim and uniquely configured surface areas.
In view of the foregoing, there remains a need to provide a cleaning tool which has universal application for cleaning all types of surfaces including flat surfaces, curved surfaces, inside and outside edges or corners, bars, rods and other surface configurations.
The present invention is directed to a tool for scraping and cleaning a variety of surfaces which includes a scraping head having upper and lower generally convex arcuate scraping edges which communicate at opposite sides of the tool head in the form of pointed tips. The scraping head is mounted transversely with respect to an axis of an elongated handle, the length of which may be varied depending upon the design and use. In a preferred embodiment, the cleaning head is mounted generally perpendicularly with respect to the elongated axis of the tool handle.
The tool head also includes a notch formed preferably generally centrally of each of the upper and lower scraping edges. In a preferred embodiment the notch in the upper edge is of a different dimension than the notch formed in the lower edge such that different types of surfaces can be cleaned utilizing each of the notches. The notches may be formed in a xe2x80x9cVxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d shaped or other similar configuration such that the notches may be used to clean various types of outside corners or round surfaces such as found on wires, rods, bars and pipes.
In one embodiment of the invention, a reinforcing neck is mounted along the rear face of the scraping head and extends toward the handle. In some embodiments the neck may be integrally formed with the handle. The neck may, in some embodiments, include outwardly extending flanges in which notches may be provided for purposes of cleaning generally circular surfaces such as wires, rods and the like. The notches formed in the flanges associated with the reinforcing neck of the tool are oriented generally rearwardly of the scraping head and are thus defined in a plane which is transverse to the plane of the notches associated with the scraping head.
In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the upper and lower convex scraping edges of the head of the tool are defined by segments of arcs of circles which overlap one another and which have different diameters such that the curvature of the upper edge of the scraping head differs from that of the lower edge.
A primary object of the present invention to provide a scraping and cleaning implement which is designed for hand use which can be utilized to scrape not only flat surfaces, but inside and outside corners, surfaces of bars, rods, wire and the like utilized in grills and cages, corners of pots and pans and the like and other surfaces which are unique in configuration.
It is the further object of the present invention to provide a scraping and cleaning tool or implement wherein different surface configurations can be cleaned by manipulation of the cleaning head of the tool such that different edges of the tool are oriented for different surfaces.